The Wind Shadow Contested!
It was a sunny day in Konohagakure, Haru went there to visit his friends and catch up. He was hanging out with his friends as he looked at the Hokage monuments and thought "Man, Do I miss this village. I swore to protect it with all of my might. I haven't had a good challenge since that Shisō, he really pushed me far, in my specialty too. I wish I could fight that old man once more. It has been boring around her lately.". He then saw people rushing around and there were excitement on their faces. Haru asked a random man about what's happening in Konoha. "Didn't you hear? a meeting between Konoha and Suna is arranged. One of the candidates for the position of the Kazekage is gonna be there." said The man to Haru as he continued on his way. "Meeting between Konoha and Suna?! how long was I away?" said Haru to himself rushing with great speed to see what was up with this meeting as he jumped from building to building and left his friends that he was hanging around with. "A candidate for the Kazekage position, huh? I am itching to see that." thought Haru with great excitement in his eyes. Contrary to the man's probable expectations: or elemental manipulation on the scale of the , the candidate was...considerably different from the others. She was an elegant woman, dressed in attire almost befitting a royal despite her status. She carried herself with pride and confidence: blonde hair traveled to her waist in a simple ponytail, bright amber eyes, simple jewelry, tad touches of makeup, and an overall presentable figure. As she walked on the road towards the 's residence, she paused for a brief moment. "I swear, if that Takamori idiot comes up to me...I will actually kick him where it hurts." Subsequently, she was interrupted by a little girl who had accidentally caused a ball to roll at the lady's foot. "Oh, here you are little girl." She said kindly with a smile, to which the little girl smiled with glee. "Thank you, uh...what is your name, Nee-san?" She asked, at which the woman responded, "My name is Samiya. How about yours?" Samiya had responded, to which the little girl brightly responded, "I am Miyako! Nice to meet you, Samiya-nee! But I have to go now!" She stated, running off with her ball to the direction where her friends were. "What a sweet little child..." Samiya thought to herself, out loud, before continuing on her path. Haru was running on his way as he confronted Samiya. He didn't know that she was the honorable Kazekage candidate, her appearance didn't hint that. All he saw was a beautiful lady on her way surrounded by some guards so he assumed she is an important person that was attending the meeting. Besides, he thought that the next Kazekage was going to be a man. He went up to the guards and said gently "Excuse me, gentlemen. I am looking for the Kazekage candidate. I heard he was going to be accompanied here." "You appear to be misinformed: I am the candidate for Kazekage." Samiya told the man, somewhat irritated at his lack of knowledge, although that was rather expected considering the gender inequality that reigned among some. "Did you have business with me? I am quite busy as of now." Samiya asked him, with an evidently irritated tone. "What?! you're the Kazekage candidate? You have my sincere apology. I like to welcome you to Konoha. I don't know if you have heard of me but you might have heard the name (Karasu) somewhere. I am that man and I came here to humbly challenge you for a dual as I want to see the skill of the hopefully future Kazekage. I would be honored if you accept my challenge." he said as he bowed to show respect for the Kazekage candidate. "Please don't flatter me with begrudging respect. If you'd like to respect me, do so in a less outlandish manner." Samiya told the man, before she continued, "I have a meeting with the Hokage at the moment, however. If I am known for anything outside of my combat skills...it is my punctuality. I'd have to delay your request for about half an hour, if you wouldn't mind?" Samiya cemented her argument, waiting for the man's response before continuing on her way. "It's no problem I'll be waiting for that battle." he said as he left after giving her the location of the battlefield. He then went back home to make sure that he has all of his gear ready. He picks up his headband and stares at it for a moment "This woman was strong enough to be a Kazekage candidate. I need to do my best." he thought to himself as he tied his headband. He then went to wait for Samiya in the discussed location. Confrontation Following the conclusion of the meeting, Samiya had left the residence of the Hokage, and continued down her path to the exit of the village, before she suddenly remembered the man's request. "Ah, jeez. Why do I have to attract so much attention...damned elders and their persistence with me having guards." Samiya looked behind her, before telling the guards, "Excuse yourselves in some indulgences for a while. I have a challenge to attend." She walked off, and the guards shrugged in compliance, before heading off to the store nearby. "Now where is that crow..." Haru waited so much under a tree that he fell a sleep from his boredom from waiting for Samiya who didn't show up. He was dreaming about fighting Daichi in an intense battle. "A showoff? I'm not showing of, you idiot" hw mumbled during his sleep. "So...this is what boys do when they're bored? No wonder the idiot comes to bother me at my house..." Samiya thought out loud, before pondering for a moment. "Perhaps if I leave him alone here...he won't notice and won't follow me..." Samiya took the appropriate decision, and began to silently walk away from the position at which Haru was, hoping not to stir him. Haru heard someone walking on the grass beside him and he noticed because he kept an attentive mind because he was waiting for Samiya. He yawn and looked beside him. "oh. there you are" he said and stretched his arms. "I waited a long time that I fell a sleep, but no matter. So, are you ready to do this?" he said as he stood up. "Goddamn it!" Samiya thought internally, clenching at a fist as the man woke up. "Ah, of course. Apologies." Samiya replied with a polite tone, internally cursing her misfortune. "Could we perhaps take this to a place a bit more open? Also...may we keep the fatal techniques to a minimum? Political repercussions of severe injuries would be damaging to the relationship of both villages." Samiya continued, before waiting for the man's response. "Don't worry, I will not injure you severely we are just practicing, but please do not go easy on me" said Haru with a smirk as he took the gentle fist stance and activated his byakugan. "Byakugan!" he said "It's your move. So come at me with all you've got." said Haru. "Ah...Hyūga Clan..." Samiya noted internally, before immediately performing the dog and boar hand seals. Her palm softly touched the ground, and she looked upon Haru immediately, "Let's break that stance of yours..." Suddenly, the ground began to shake rapidly: air currents within the ground accelerated rapidly, therefore causing the earth to degenerate and a great quake occurring, breaking apart the earth. Immediately after doing so, Samiya stepped upon and through the rock formations with ease, beginning her assault through a simple wave of her ornate folding fan, releasing heavy currents that created numerous vacuum pockets at a close range, ensuring that he was incapable of avoiding easily. As soon as the earth started shaking Haru began losing his balance before jumping in the air and using Flight Technique to ascend in the air to get away from the ground. When Samiya used her second attack, Haru began rotating with great speed "Hakkeshō Kaiten!" he said while spinning with great speed and increasing the intensity of his chakra in order to block the assault. "Wow, that was close." he said out loud. He then made the snake hand seal "Suiton: Bakusui Shōha" he said before spitting a great deal of water which changed the terrain and turned it to a miniature ocean by spitting a giant wave towards Samiya as he was riding on it. Samiya recognized the motion that Haru was about to use, and quickly began to gather compressed wind towards her palm. Upon reaching a certain level and appropriate timing, Samiya instantly projected the column of compressed air towards the water, therefore splitting it cleanly in half with its sheer force, "Go, you six," Samiya commanded, throwing six talismans in the air as six different puppets had appeared before Haru. Beginning to latch on with her chakra threads, Samiya ordered, "Formation Namikaze." This order prompted each of the puppets to surround Haru in a hexagonal formation; while she prepared a technique in her other hand with her fan, the puppets began to assault Haru through numerous taijutsu maneuvers, while relying on their tools and functions to give them a further advantage. As Samiya made the mentioned formation, Haru created a shadow clone and they both made the following hand seals (Tiger → Snake → Rat → Snake → Tiger) "Suiton: Suijinheki!" they said while standing back to back and they created a defensive water wall which surrounded him. The clone used Chakra Enhanced Speed to quickly go right in front of Samiya in a moment after the previous defense method was over. He made the tiger and dog hand seals on his way "Fūton: Shinkū Taigyoku" he said and he used this technique about one meter away from Samiya, he managed to cover this distance thanks to the Chakra Enhanced Speed technique which was made to make up for the lack of knowledge in space-time jutsu. "Wind..." Samiya noted, and decided to abandon her previous maneuver in favor of the use of a simple flowing of chakra to her weapon, before slicing through the sphere with a single, vertical slash. Due to the compressed pressure of the technique, and its proximity near Haru, it exploded into a powerful gale which was enough to push back Samiya - as well as Haru - a significant distance away. Upon reaching the said distance, Samiya extended her chakra threads, and quickly reattached the threads through a process similar to . Upon doing so, Samiya split the puppets into two groups, attacking both clones with three puppets each, in the same formation as before. "While he's distracted..." Samiya quickly formed three instant hand seals before reverting her control back to the puppets. Surrounding her, bubbles of wind began to form: big, small and medium sizes, and all of them were directed against Haru and his clone. Upon making contact, they would explode into a powerful wave of pressure that would catch both Haru and his clone off-balance; a perfect opportunity. Haru and his clone use Water Release: Hiding in Water Technique to merge with the water below them to avoid the attack directed towards them. Haru's clone came out of the water behind Samiya after the assault was over, not making any sound or indication of his location making the following hand seals (Snake → Ram → Tiger → Horse → Snake → Rabbit → Horse → Snake → Rabbit → Both palms out) "Suirō no jutsu" he said attempting to trap Samiya in his water technique. While the real Haru waited under water for the right moment. "Right, I can sense him. Hand seals...I need to evade this." In the instant that Haru placed his palm outward, Samiya performed a single, brief Ram seal, at which she would be engulfed in a sphere of water. "Argh." Samiya choked for a brief moment in time, before suddenly her body was replaced with a quantity of wind, while she would be standing on one of the remaining boulders above the water, a good distance away from the clone. "It appears the real Haru has hid himself...clever." Samiya thought, before using her puppets to once again distract the clone through an omni-directional assault, while she began to use methods of sensory to discern Haru's real position. "There's always a slight opening..." The clone stared at the puppets rushing towards him with his cold white eyes as he used Chakra Enhanced Speed to escape the assault in a mere instant. He then created three shadow clones. "Alright let's get serious." he said with a grin on his face. There were four clones on the battlefield now. One waited to counter the attacks of the puppets. Another one kept an eye on Samiya and on the surroundings. The third one made the bird hand seal followed by a special hand seal of the following technique which is Water Release: Human Marionette Technique. He hoped to stop Samiya from moving. Instantaneously, Samiya leaped into the air, and using a somersault, proceeded to aim a jump kick towards the clone that began to utilize the technique - by leaping away from the radius of the hand seal, the chakra would have no place to direct towards, therefore the technique became useless. While doing so, Samiya drew numerous blades from a pouch underneath her skirt, and threw them towards the respective clones. While doing so, a technique formula shone, at which it converted into a potent seal that would drain all of the clone's chakra if it made contact. Of course, Samiya had taken extra precautions to ensure that they would land on their respectful targets. The clones were hit by Samiya's assault which directed their chakra to her. Haru came out of the water slowly and stared at Samiya. "Well Kazekage, you're more of a challenge than I expected. No matter, that means I'll have to resort to other methods." said Haru with all the damn confidence in the world. Suddenly, crows began to form around him as they came out of his body. He then pointed towards Samiya slowly applying Ephemeral. "Well Kazekage let's see how you will counter this." thought Haru. The crows which Haru summon began to gather to form ten clones of himself. And there were lots of crows flying in the sky. Having drained the chakra from the clones, Samiya soon landed onto the water-filled ground and briefly let out a breath. This battle was more tiring than she expected, but she focused once again. Upon noticing the crows being forged, she ensured to focus on her own chakra threads. Noticing their dimming in strength, Samiya began to forge a counter to the evident Genjutsu that was used against her. Probing her puppets closer to her, she ensured that the Genjutsu wasn't attempting to harm her in any shape or form. "Coins!" She shouted, at which the puppets immediately transferred their own chakra into Samiya's chakra network, which overrided Haru's own chakra and subsequently allowed her to escape from the Genjutsu with only a minimal level of exertion. "Is that all? I expected a bit more from a man named 'Crow'. Your Genjutsu couldn't even reach the level of an idiot's certain technique." "an idiot? I am just testing you Kazekage." he said as own of his crows stood on his shoulder "Caw,Caw" said the crows which were flying in the sky. "Alright, this might be a little more challenging." he said as he made the following hand seals (Horse → Ram → Tiger → Bird) "Burn" said Haru. As his torture genjutsu took effect. Samiya simply sighed again. While the Genjutsu in itself was more potent, the fact that he used it without any care and with such speed indicated that the chakra used to forge it was mildly unstable. Taking this into account, Samiya began to concentrate on retaking the flow of her own chakra, utilizing the ram hand seal as a medium to focus the chakra's flow and completely negate it. Upon finishing this process, while the flames were apparently chewing at Samiya's being, she calmly said, "Release", at which Samiya took hold of her own chakra flow, allowing her to disband the technique with minimal difficulty. "You do realize, while I'm not a specialist at Genjutsu, using Genjutsu with such speed and lack of precision really gets you nowhere but losing chakra?" "Good, You're really good Kazekage. I haven't enjoyed a fight like this in a long time." Haru said. He performed the following hand seals with great speed (Snake → Ram → Tiger → Horse → Snake → Rabbit → Horse → Snake → Serpant → Both Palms Out) "Chakra Absorbing Rain Technique" he said as rain came raining down from the sky with great quantity. "Kage Bunshin" said Haru as he created two clones. One of the clones stepped forward and said "Hakke Kūshō" as he fired his technique towards Samiya. Haru wanted to keep it fast pace. "And you're genuinely a pain in the ass." Samiya thought to herself, sighing as she was forced to concentrate on what was happening around her. Samiya decided to not use too much chakra and forced herself to use minimal, wrapping it around her and increasing its density to the point where standard absorption techniques could only absorb only a small quantity. Upon doing so, she drew another set of blades, and a dense quantity of chakra within them, parting the technique and creating a brief explosion from the vacuum interacting with the surrounding air. This gave her the distraction required to distance herself from Haru. "Oh, by the way, I hope you do understand that your rain is likely going to drain all the chakra from those clones of yours." Samiya grunted to him, really not liking the current scenario. "Oh and looking at the radius of this rain, civilians are going to be affected. You'd best negate this technique, fast. Or...I can do it for you." Samiya smirked, before throwing a simple parchment towards the rain, activating a seal in it which would eventually be absorbed by the opponent she was fighting. Of course, Haru was so busy in his glory to understand his current situation.